FMD, University of Waikato
Issue No: 65 – October 2008
On a recent holiday in Rarotonga I took the following photos, which I thought you might find interesting.
Sign (left) re power: This is the sign for the 8 diesel generator power station on
Rarotonga. It’s a bit hard to read this small photo, but it says that the total power
production for the whole island is 10.9 megawatts. The University uses approx 4
megs.
Sign (right) – Ministry of Agriculture:
Was impressed with the high quality
of their head office facilities – perhaps
the University does alright after all!!
Stone (right): This is apparently
the exact spot that the Tainui
canoe left for New Zealand, and
this memorial commemorates
that event.
From John Cameron
Go Fly a Kite
FMD SOCIAL CLUB
th
Sausage Sizzle lunch – 5 Nov: There will be a lunchtime bbq
(sausage sizzle) in the FMD courtyard from 12noon on
Wednesday. Hope to see you there!!
Bus/Boat trip – 8th Nov: There are still spaces available if you
want to go to Auckland for the Boat Trip with the Riverhead Ferry.
You need to give Tom Reidy your name and payment by
Wednesday 5th November. Cost is $40 per head.
A reminder that the bus departs the FMD carpark at 7.30am and
arrives back at approx 8pm. Boat trip 10am to 3.30pm – Islington
Bay, Rangitoto Island. Plenty of short walks, historical buildings,
morning tea, lunch provided.
Christmas Social ‐ 5th Dec – venue Don Llewellyn’s Pavilion bar, a
catered BBQ meal and a live band for entertainment – Rock’N Roll
theme. Cost is $20 per head.
Thanks to everyone who supports the raffles/lotto numbers.
We welcome a new porter to
FMD. Charlie Watson is a
family man from Raglan.
Bought up in Hamilton he
lived in several South Island
towns
before
heading
overseas for his OE. Charlie
and his wife Lorraine have 2
children and If Charlie says
“go fly a kite” he knows what
he is talking about; he and
Lorraine have been running a
Cottage Kite business for the past (17 years). Charlie is a
self‐confessed guitaraholic and plays in a rock and roll party
band and even gets to play in the occaisional concert.
Charlie has spent the past 8 and a half years as a rural
delivery postie and courier with a little bit of furniture
removals thrown into the mix.
A couple of pictures (mirror images) taken down by Oranga/Shops area on a perfect summer’s day (14th Oct) by Nan Sinclair.
We had an informal get together in the tearoom to farewell Philip Whyte on Friday
Flossing and keeping gums healthy can
10th October. Phil is taking on the role of house husband, looking after his daughter
reduce your risk of
McKenzie.
a heart attack or stroke by 25%
Two Morepork Owls seen in the University Fernery in September ‐ seem to be a pair No matter how well people look after their
and also seem to have taken up residence within the Fernery.
teeth and gums, very few maintain perfect oral
Nan and Shar while looking for possible possum damage had a huge surprise to spot
two ruru or moreporks in the fernery looking down at them. Fortunately Nan, who
always has a camera handy took
some pics to share. The ruru is NZ’s
only surviving owl. Being birds of the
night they sleep during the day and
at night they will hunt for small birds,
rats and mice. They nest in tree
hollows, cavities of rocks and roots
and will lay up to three eggs between
October and November and ready
to fly in about 35 days.
hygiene day by day. Plaque is easily missed
between teeth and around the gum line. If
plaque is missed regularly, within days it can
mineralise into a hard, rough, cement‐like
material (known as tartar). Plaque and tartar
are the primary factors leading to the
development and progression of periodontal
(gum) disease. Regular visits with a qualified
hygienist, ensures the teeth are kept free of
bacterial irritants and any gum problem can be
addressed promptly.
Bacteria in the mouth, e.g. in gum disease, easily
enter the blood stream because the mouth is a
very blood supply rich part of the body. The
We hope to see more ruru soon.
types of bacteria found in the mouth tend to
easily infect the endocardium (lining of the
I met the bloke who invented crosswords today. I can't
heart) and blood vessels that supply the heart
remember his name, it's P something T something R.
itself (coronary arteries). This increases the risk
th
Taken this morning (15 Oct) on the fence just near the seating area outside the for heart attacks.
FMD tea room, a blackbird and her chicks in the nest. Thanks to Mark and his team
According to a press release from 10 September
for the mesh behind which she could build her nest.
2008, “New Zealand scientists have claimed a
breakthrough in showing how gum disease
increases the incidence of heart attack and
stroke.
Another thanks to Security ……. This time from Scott Gemmill
8 October Event
In research which has not yet been published in
peer‐reviewed journals, Professor Greg Seymour
from Otago University has told the Society for
General Microbiology in Dublin that the body’s
defenses overreact to the threat of gum disease
and start to destroy other protective cell too.
This leads to atherosclerosis, a “furring” of the
arteries, the primary cause of heart attack, the
Guardian newspaper reported.
Submitted by Robin Dunmall
(taken from his dentist’s newsletter)
Yesterday we had the top economists from throughout New Zealand here for
Air NZ Cup rugby competition
symposium.
Our in‐house competition ended, with the
At the symposium dinner several people commented on the availability of parking prize giving being held on 8th October.
and the signage. One of the big wigs from the Ministry of Economic Development With JohnC being on leave Tony Dicks
commented that this was the first event she had been to where the parking and presented the prizes, along with the spot
directions had been so well thought out.
prizes for those who may have done
The symposium was a huge success. Roger's professionalism ensured the something a little different.
participants had a positive first impression. Thank you!
This year’s prizes went to:
I feel badly that so many car parks went unused and I know you will both have a few • Stu Banks 1st with 116 points
people that are unhappy because they had to walk an extra five minutes.
• Pieter Koers 2nd with 113 points
• Kenny Kuunders and Nola Dicks 3rd
Thank you again for your ongoing support of these events.
equal with 112 points.
All the best, Scott
New study links BPA to heart disease and diabetes
Ubiquitous chemical bisphenol A is linked to heart disease and diabetes, says research published last week in the Journal of the
American Medical Association. The Food and Drug Administration recently declared that BPA is safe; the new study's release was
timed to coincide with a hearing in which the FDA defended that conclusion. For the new study, researchers studied urine
samples from 1,455 American adults. BPA was detectable in 90 percent of the samples, though all were within currently
recommended exposure levels. However, participants with the highest levels of BPA in their urine had nearly three times the
chance of having heart disease than those with lowest exposure, and were 2.4 times more likely to have diabetes. Other studies
have linked the chemical to reproductive and hormonal troubles. The new study is the largest to look at the effects of BPA in
humans; the FDA relied heavily on industry‐funded studies of lab animals. While everyone agrees that more research is needed,
many consumers are already trying to avoid BPA by eschewing some plastic bottles, baby toys, and canned foods.
Submitted by Robin Dunmall
Facilitation will be produced monthly. This publication is available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/fmd/
For communications relating to the FMD newsletter please contact Judy Swetman, ext 4980, email [email protected].